Master of Illusion
by Juneblue
Summary: AU. Naruto doesn't know why he hears voices, why he senses spirits, evil, and malice. That is, until an amateur demon haunts him down, claiming that Naruto belongs to him as per stipulated in an ancient contract. SasuNaru.


Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, and I hereby proclaim that I am not profiting from this story.  
A/N: A joke that crossed my mind when writing, "life's is a refrigerator, you got to chill". And has anyone noticed that what's inside a refrigerator can reveal a lot about a person?  
_Warnings_: Light non-con, humiliation, boy love, hints of sadism, and tragic humor.

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Chapter One

Barren Refrigerator

There's no question that there is an unseen world. The problem for most of us is, how far is it from midtown and how late is it open? Unexplainable events occur constantly. One man will see spirits. Another will hear voices. A third will wake up in the middle of the night and find himself stranded on an isle fleeing from savages. How many of us have not at one time or another felt an ice-cold hand on the back of our neck while we were home alone? Poor Naruto has, and he wondered, what is behind these experiences, or in front of them, for that matter? And after death is it still possible to take showers?

Last year for example, Naruto awoke in the middle of the night and saw his good friend's mentor, Gai Maito, who had been dead for five years, sitting at the foot of his bed posing ridiculously. Flustered, Naruto asked him what he was doing there, and to which Gai replied not to panic, he was dead and was just visiting for the weekend.

"What's it like in the other world?" inquired Naruto, tightly clutching his comforter.

"Not unlike this town actually," said Gai, grinning and flexing his muffins of steel. "I have a message for you, Naruto."

"A message…for me?"

"Yeah," muttered the ghost somberly, as if rising from a bloody battlefield. "Your ankle socks are very childish. It's time for you to wear the longer, warmer kind. And I suppose you could honor me from time to time by wearing vivid, lively green spandex—would you?"

Smiling lopsidedly, Naruto sheepishly answered, "I'm okay with wearing green, Mr. Maito, but if I wore _spandex_…my dad and mom will haunt my ass, and having you around is more than I can handle."

At that point, Naruto's godfather, Iruka, entered his room and saw Naruto talking to a "green silhouette" which reminded him of Gai Maito, but better looking. Finally, the apparition convinced Naruto to join him in a hymn of youth and lotus, which the blond reluctantly agreed and sang along with a fervent Gai.

_Those days weren't so bad. But…now Iruka's gone._

Lately, sleeping at night became so incredibly difficult to the point that he would lay on his bed and stare into the ceiling for hours. For the past several nights, ever since he met Sasuke, Naruto harbored intense, uneasy feelings that someone was trying to break into his home to shampoo him. In fact, several hours before twilight, he saw shadowy forms flit across the walls, and every now and then Naruto reached for the bat under his bed as a means for self-defense.

The problem is, no one had a vendetta to shampoo his hair. Naruto was safe, entirely safe. But for how longer? His dreadful paranoia threatened to create a dichotomy within his mind, that of illusion and reality—his mind split, as his heart, to what's real and what's not real. What if everything is an illusion and nothing exists? In that case, he definitely overpaid for his carpet.

Alone at home and night closing in, Naruto's hackles rose—he felt someone watching him, like a shadowy hand reaching for him, looming nearer than ever. He slowly trailed down the little hall to his bedroom, taking each step with extreme caution as if some unearthly spirit might jump in front of him. Thankfully, though, he met no such startling surprises and entered his private quarters peacefully.

Sprawling on his bed, Naruto dialed Iruka's number on his cellphone and nervously waited for the other line to connect.

Iruka answered, "Hello?"

Heartbeat speeding up, Naruto said everything in a breath, "Iruka can you please come back over? I didn't even eat dinner and I'm so hungry, and I'm afraid to shower!"

"What happened? What's wrong?"

"I feel like someone is watching me."

He heard his godfather sigh. "No one is watching you, Naruto."

"B-but," stuttered Naruto, desperation choking him, "I still don't feel safe. Right as soon as you left, the next door neighbor vandalized the front yard, littering live snakes on the lawn…and I'm awkward, I don't know how to deal with these kinds of situations…you could have handled it better than I did…"

"Nice try, Naruto but the only house nearby is dead empty. No one lives there."

Frowning, Naruto felt his breath hitch. "What? No that's not…I'm not lying to you!"

"Well then what are you talking about? The only neighbors are miles away. You live on a remote little hill."

"I…I'm telling you, he must have lied to me…he said he moved in next door! The house right by the forest, that's what I thought he meant—"

"_Naruto_—you make up these ridiculous stories all the time."

The pressure in his chest skyrocketed. "I'm not making this up!"

"I can't just come back every time you feel scared, Naruto. You're old enough to live on your own, you've grown up."

"This isn't about growing up. This is life or death, shit!"

"Don't cuss in front of me—"

"_Please_! Let tonight be the last time, I promise I won't ask you to come over ever again."

"Calm down."

_Is he…?_ "So you'll come?"

"No. I need to wake up early for work tomorrow," upon Naruto's whine, Iruka added further, "You can tuck yourself to bed without me, you little pipsqueak."

Naruto mewled, "But I like it when you scratch me to sleep, it's very calming, and like you said, I need to calm down."

"You know what? Drink the sleeping medicine on the kitchen counter and close your eyes. In twenty minutes you'll be fast asleep."

"That stuff doesn't work. For me, what'll work, are those tranquilizers used on psychiatric patients."

"Naruto…"

"Maybe for Christmas you can bring me a capful of Xanax?" asked Naruto pleasantly. "That would make an excellent present for me. I'd finally stop being so uptight."

"Enough! This is crazy talk. You don't need a tranquilizer and certainly not Xanax—these things can change your personality forever."

Naruto opened his mouth to retort, but through the open door, he saw a dark shadow rapidly flit across the hall. No words can explain the amount of terror which seized him at that moment. He stopped breathing and his gut weighed a bunch of bricks. Shakily, he got off the bed, phone forgotten. Who just ran down his hall? Or better yet, _what_ ran down his hall?

With utmost trepidation, Naruto tip-toed out of his room and he stood in the very middle of the hall, and upon seeing no one, he felt obliged to admit that his imagination went rampant again. However, at that moment, a terrible sound erupted from downstairs—the sound of metal pans falling. He had no metal pans, he thought horrified and so Naruto quickly retrieved the sturdy bat from his room and then ventured to the first floor kitchen.

Clenching the bat in his hand, ready to swing at anyone who dared to surprise him, Naruto anxiously flipped the light switch, and the whole of the kitchen illuminated before him. At first, all seemed normal save for the dirty floors and the lack of upkeep when it came to the dishes. Upon a thorough inspection, however, Naruto discovered that his refrigerator had been ransacked and that the delicious rice balls he made the other day were missing.

His stomach let out an unhappy growl upon discovering that there will be no food tonight. The barren, entirely empty fridge glared at him mockingly.

"Damn it, _fuck you_ ghost!" Naruto spat, momentarily forgetting his fear, "I was _going_ to eat that tonight too."

As if hearing Naruto's exclamation, loud footsteps sounded from upstairs. Bristling, Naruto froze and strained his ear to catch air of which room the awful noises came from. When he heard the footsteps again, he noticed a distant quality to them, and that the mischievous poltergeist haunted his attic. He'd need to get up to the attic at this late hour, how perfectly dreadful.

"If it's a ghost then a bat won't do…" Naruto thought seriously, contemplative enough to rub his chin. "I need to get some of those spell tags Jiraiya, that pervy sage, recommended."

_But how can it be a ghost, if it took your rice balls? Ghosts can't eat!_ His subconscious had a good point. But to Naruto's experience, humans presented more trouble than any apparition could, which led him to wonder if the nightmare he had of men trying to shampoo was in fact true.

_No, the man would've already shampooed you by now._

"Then who the hell is—"

_A homeless person, obviously._ "Shit, but if he's armed?"

_Then you'll have to kill the intruder._ "Kill? No, no…God no! If I kill homeless person in this house, wouldn't he be stuck haunting the place for eternity?"

Despite the absurd logic, Naruto figured even a fool must now and then be right, by chance. He drifted slowly to the stairway, and warily progressed up the steps as though to avoid any harsh creaking noises. Alas, the last stair step he treaded emitted a dreadfully slow creak, much to his disdain, causing goose bumps to burgeon all over his skin. The person upstairs must have heard his noisy advancement because Naruto heard a frightening bustle upstairs.

Thump! Bump.

Was that his heart, or someone thrashing around up in his attic?

Naruto clenched the base of the bat tighter, and ever gingerly made his way down the dark corridor. On the way, he passed his brightly lit room and took a peep, his eyes surveying every inch from corner to corner. When he found everything appeared normal within his quarters, he proceeded down to the end of the hall towards the wooden door leading up to his attic.

Fisting the door knob, Naruto whispered, "Here I go…."

He pushed the door open and stood back, waiting a little bit before entering the darkness, as if reconsidering. Bat in his grip, Naruto carefully ascended the little steps up to the attic. Every step higher, he ascended deeper into the darkness. Frantically he thought, he must make a run for the light switch, and so for the next three stair steps he fumbled quickly and when reaching the attic floor, he dashed to turn on the light.

Unfortunately, the attic harbored a single light bulb, of low wattage, and the corners of the attic remained obscured in darkness. Naruto whimpered involuntarily when he saw shadows of the objects in the room projected onto the wall as funny yet frightening shapes. He saw no one. And he freaked. How could there not be anyone up here? He was sure he heard footsteps and very loud at that.

However, his eyes noticed right away the most unusual thing. Sprawled on the dusty floor by the attic window, was a parchment scroll, about a meter long with ancient incomprehensible writing. Someone, whoever invaded his attic, found this scroll and unrolled it for him to see.

"Whatever this is…must have been up here for ages," Naruto said with a breath of wonder, "I never knew…"

"It's a contract. A nuptial agreement, I'd say," said a voice behind him.

Frightened out of his wits, Naruto turned around, swinging his bat. However, he swung at the air, and he saw no one.

"Right here, moron. Are you blind?"

At that, Naruto immediately made out a pale figure sitting on one of the rickety chairs in the darkest corner of the room. The light scarcely touched the stranger, only revealing a haughty silhouette whose legs were crossed.

Gulping, Naruto tried to sound intimidating, "Get the hell up and face me!"

Suddenly, the door slammed shut behind Naruto as if by a violent wind, effectually startling the blond. It is impossible to describe how terrified he felt, he almost died for fear right then and there. Though his heart skipped three beats, he dared not to turn his gaze away from the intruder and kept a tremulous stare on the shadowy form.

"Well, well, you seemed to have prepared yourself for me," said the man mockingly, still seated cozily in the darkness.

_He…he sounds…_ "Sasuke?"

"Want to know a little secret?"

Stiffening into a hard rock, the blond bit his lip and said nothing.

Sasuke's voice broke the silence with a frighteningly melodious voice. "If you, and only you, say my name three times, I'll instantly be at your side. You're a master of seals, don't look so surprised."

"D-damn it, this isn't funny! Stop screwing around," shouted Naruto, tightening his hold on the bat, "Get the _fuck up_ and over here!"

"Just this once, I'll let you speak to me like that," he replied huskily, "I wanted you to know a little about me first, before I played rough."

Angered, the blond blew out like a fuse. "I don't _want_ to know about you! I want you to leave. Leave!"

Naruto wished he hadn't said that. The light bulb started to flicker out, and he was engulfed in darkness. His heart almost gave out, especially when he heard Sasuke approach him. There was no escape. The door was sealed shut behind him, and he'd been swallowed in pitch blackness. He couldn't see his own hand in front of his face, let alone the bat he wielded.

He felt Sasuke violently snatch his weapon away. "Do you even know why Iruka left?" he asked hauntingly.

_No…_ Naruto's throat constricted when he felt Sasuke's cool breath. _I can't see anything…_

"It was _me_. I needed to get rid of him. See how nice I am? I could have killed him."

Instinctively, Naruto furiously backed away until he tripped over something hard and metallic. He fell backwards and his head collided onto a soft pile of antique pillows, causing a lot of dust to rise and penetrate his innocent lungs. His legs felt numb down to his toes and in this vulnerable state he thought any second he'd die, that the other boy would dash his head with the bat that he confiscated.

The light flickered on again. Naruto, coughing his pained heart out, looked up to see Sasuke looming over him with a cat-caught-the-canary smirk. How could someone so handsome be this dreadful?

Sitting up, he glared hotly at lofty pale boy. "What do you want?"

Naruto gasped when he felt Sasuke's index finger hooking under his chin, pulling his face closer. Midnight eyes descended into his sky of vision like two dark, unforeseen planets and they coldly gazed down at him, omniscient and all-knowing. He felt the heat radiating off Sasuke and his warm breath like waves. Naruto shivered, fear paralyzing him like a potent poison, and he was still helplessly riveted on the floor. That is, the heavy unknown burdened him from rising to his feet.

He had no idea what the other boy wanted or what he was capable of.

"You see, Naruto," whispered Sasuke, glaring intently into uncertain blue eyes, "I've found myself in a dire strait and I require your deliverance."

"W-what?" mumbled the blond. "I can't help you…"

A dark shadow cast over Sasuke's face. "Can't or won't?"

Confusion struck Naruto like a deafening thunder, and he blurted out, "I think you have me mixed up with someone else."

"Naruto Uzumaki, 17th generation of the Senju clan…No, I'm not mistaken."

_The fuck?!_ "Senju who? Listen, I have no clue what you're talking about. I think this is a giant misunderstanding—"

Sasuke jerked away, almost violently, and retreated further back into the shadows, murmuring, "Idiot."

Ignoring the insult, Naruto imploringly asked, "So, can we clear up this misunderstanding and call it a night? Obviously I'm not who you think I am."

"This isn't a misunderstanding."

The deadly threat laced in Sasuke's voice sent the blond aquiver.

"At first, you kindled doubt in my mind. I had to wonder if you were really _him_," professed Sasuke, eyes gleaming balefully, "Then I realized, your ignorance reminds me of myself, before I learned the truth."

_Is he insane? _Naruto scowled. "What truth? That it was _you_ who ate the rice balls in my refrigerator?"

Sasuke drifted closer to the boy, again, and sneered, "They were delicious, by the way. I'll have you make me more sometime."

"_Bastard!_" growled Naruto, to which Sasuke only smirked. "That was my dinner you ate, I can't believe you'd stoop so low…"

In that moment, Sasuke kneeled down on an eye-to-eye level with the helpless blond, who seemed so absorbed with the dilemma of food, that he neglected the frightening presence of a complete stranger dawdling dangerously close right in front of him.

"Think of those rice balls as a sacrifice to all the good fortune I'll bestow," he whispered, in an uncharacteristic gentleness. "Naruto?"

Whimpering, Naruto searched for solace in those onyx eyes. "You could have put another snake, this time on my bed, and I would have felt much better…"

Sasuke simply stared at him. "Sure, next time I promise to select the far more graphically violent choice of persuasion."

"N-no!" choked out Naruto, suddenly realizing how close Sasuke was, and he breathed nervously, "Y-you lied to me…you said you moved in next door."

"I always tell the truth. Even when I lie. You can trust me."

Naruto blinked. "So that house by the river, _you_ live there?"

"Didn't I say just that?"

He narrowed his eyes, not fully convinced. "And what are you doing here? I forgot…"

Slowly, Sasuke's lips curled upwards. "Well, first I want you to acknowledge the nuptials our ancestors agreed upon," he continued slyly when Naruto blinked bewilderedly, "You do know what that means, right?"

Naruto hesitated and swallowed hard. "No, are you talking about that scroll over there? I see it but I can't read it…"

Sasuke smirked balefully. "It means you are entitled _to me_ in so many ways, to the point that scroll is almost a meaningless piece of paper."

He leaned away from the smug boy. "I'm not entitled to anyone."

"You are, and you're going to help me."

"You keep _saying_ I have to help you," the flustered blond began, brows furrowing, "but I don't know how I possibly could, and why I'd do it…"

"Don't you know _anything_?" asked Sasuke almost bitingly, to which Naruto glared daggers at him. "Why you are the way you are, why your parents are dead, why _I'm_ here…you're not even blissfully ignorant, are you? How pitiful."

"And a total stranger understands me better than I can myself?" he deadpanned in return. "Jesus, do you really think I'm an idiot? I'm done listening to this bullshit. You don't know me, and you made a mistake."

With that, the blond sucked in a shaky breath, stumbled onto his feet, and trailed for the door. He wanted to get out of the attic. He wanted _out_. He wanted his bed and to pretend Sasuke wasn't in his house. He wanted to fall asleep and be left alone. He wanted food, too, but life was tough. Perhaps those missing rice balls symbolized his perpetual need or hunger for sanity. He groped the wall for support, and walked around Sasuke, desperately hoping that he wouldn't be stopped.

Alas, Naruto froze when he heard Sasuke angrily demand from behind, "Where do you think you're going?"

"Didn't you just hear what I said? I'm done! You're a _quack_ and a liar," fumed Naruto, turning to face the other, too tired and hungry to really consider his situation. "Demon or human, you need more help than me, and that's saying a lot."

After a tense moment, Sasuke said sinisterly, as dark as sin, "You're done? Well, so am I."

The light flickered out. Darkness swallowed Naruto whole, who unable to see anything again, frantically groped the wall. Terror seized his heart like a hostage at gunpoint. Was this it? Was he going to die tonight?

In a second, he heard Sasuke leave the attic through the door, and the sound of the lock clicking.

_No…_

Naruto flung himself onto the attic door. He fumbled frantically for the knob and discovered that it truly was locked. He sensed Sasuke on the other side.

He cried out, banging the wooden surface, "God damn it Sasuke, open this door!"

When the brunet said nothing, Naruto belligerently added, "I don't know what you want from me, but whatever it is I _can't_ help you with it."

The deep monotonous voice replied, "You can help me, Naruto. And you will."

Heart breaking, Naruto heaved desperately for air. "Sasuke, please don't leave me in here."

No response.

Hot liquid pooled in his eyes, and he slid to the ground.

_Just damn it all to hell_, he furiously thought clenching his fists so tightly that his knuckles turned white. _Why me_?

Tormented, Naruto wondered, who will deliver him from misery? A shrink, hypnotist, or death itself? In a word, he felt suffocated. His life was a barren refrigerator.


End file.
